Of Past and Future
by The Realm Walker
Summary: My very first FF. Pre/post SFA.. An orphaned child is taken in by a special Traveler. Begins roughly 20 years before original Star Fox game. I suck at titles and summaries.. Rated R just to be on the safe side (violence scenes, most likely). Please R&R!
1. Part 1, Chapter 1: The Arrival

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Of Past and Future: The tale of a Traveller (A pre-post SFA fic)

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Disclaimer: I do NOT own Star Fox, Star Fox Adventures or any of their characters. Heck, if I would, the game would not be so feckin´ short. I do own Skysoar and the concept of World Travellers, however. If you want to use them, ask. 

This part of the story is set approximately 20 years before the Star Fox 64 game (or Lylat Wars, as it was called in Europe), in the time the main characters were mere children.

This chapter introduces a character of my own invention. Not much happening, but plenty of descriptions. Bare with me, O reader mine, for there will be action in the next chapter.

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Part One- Pre- SFA

**Chapter 1- The Arrival**

Cold wind howled eerily in the frozen hills. Dark mist circled the hills, apparently unmoven by the gales of freezing wind. No movement except for the swirling mists was visible. This was a place of ancient magic where the the streams of arcane energy condensed into a nexus of power. As such, most living creatures avoided the foreboding hills, for the magic here had strange effects on the surroundings.

The howling winds grew suddenly stronger. Mist, glowing dim azure blue, appeared on top of the highest hill. Two small, golden lights appeared above the mist and the mist rose to surround the orbs. The mist formed a blue pillar unmoven by the winds. The blue mist seemed to condense and gain more luminosity. The light grew brighter until all that was visible was the hellish blue light and two golden speres, both the size of the heart of a child.

Suddenly the light faded away leaving a creature standing on the top of the hill. The being stood like a man but looked like a small dragon. It was over eight feet tall, very muscular but still slender in a reptilian way. The face was dragonlike with a long snout filled with sharp teeth. The jaws had two small horns protruding from their base, one on both side. The sides of the head housed two finlike ears consisting of five thin bone spikes, connected with a translucent membrane. It had two pairs of horns, the first pair only an inch long above the eyes, the second pair a good seven inches long and slightly curved positioned behind the smaller pair. The horns and the teeth of the creature shone bone white. The arms were muscular and humanlike but ending in hands with only four powerful fingers with wicked black claws. The legs were double hinged like a human standing on his toes, with three strong toes baring sharp black claws. The being had a very long, muscular tail ending in a white leaf-shaped bone plate. From the back of the creature sprouted a pair of batlike wings sized like small sails. The entire body of the creature was covered in sapphire blue, diamond-shaped scales. Its eyes shone golden from amongst the azure scales with humanlike intelligence. The pupils were narrow vertival slits like those of a cat.

Wind filled the creature´s wings. It drew a deep breath and spoke with a deep voice sounding like storm winds howling in a deep gorge. _"Wrann gar´nich?"_

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"Wrann gar´nich?" Skysoar thought aloud. "Where am I? Skysoar asked again, speaking in his ancient language, Draconian. He looked around and found himself on a frozen hilltop in the middle of desolate tundra.

Skysoar winced slightly as he felt a deep emptiness within himself. Every time he left a world to reappear in a new realm, he would lose a small part of his memories. A small price for immortality, but to him it felt like leaving behind a part of himself every time he Travelled. Travelled… Travelling, a fabulous gift and a dark curse. Skysoar was a World Traveller, a Realm Walker, Wanderer of Dimensions.. so many names for the same power. In a way he truly was immortal. When he died in some world, his soul would Travel to a random world in a random realm-a dimension- and be instantly reborn on a place of power in that world. Non-Traveller souls would move to the Spectral Realm- an empty dimension with only wisps of grey mist and the souls of the dead- to spend a period of rest equaling their former life in length and be reincarnated in a random world, in a random plane- without any memories of their former lives, whereas Skysoar lost only a fraction of his memories. He would, however, never lose his memories from the time before he became a Traveller. Never would he forget.. nor would he leave behind the pain within some of those memories.

Skysoar knew nothing of the world he had been born in, but staying here in the hills would take him nowhere. Finding food and shelter from the elements fould be imperative. A quick glance gave Skysoar the general direction to travel. The sun was setting, giving him a rough sense of directions. To the north, east and west there was nothing but blank and desolate tundra. In the south, however, rose a mountain range with what looked like snowy woods in the valleys between the mountains. Where were trees, there most likely were animals too. There would be food. Skysoar smelled the wind and began his walk. It would take him at least the entire following day and night to reach the mountain by foot. His wings were not only for decoration, but the winds here on the open tundra were too unpredictable for him to attempt flight. He was rather hungry then nursing a broken wing.

Skysoar arrived at the foot of the mountains at dawn. The first rays of the morning sun reflected off his crystalline scales, making them glow like molten sapphire. He spreadt his wings slightly to absorb as much heat into himself as possible. Looking up at the mountains, the Draconian felt small and meaningless compared to them. Still he would live on when the mountains had crumpled to dust, though he would most likely not remember them.

Skysoar sighed and gazed into the snowy forest, its edge some half a mile above him. The way was covered in good three feet of snow- enough to cover him up to his waist. That _would_ have made things harder for a normal traveller, but not for a winged Draconian. Skysoar flapped his wings and rose a good foot off the ground. Using a combination of hovering, hiking and swearing in Draconian for the wind (Once a sudden gale pushed him down and he found himself nearly chest deep in the soft snow) he reached the edge of the forest in almost an hour.

Skysoar entered the valley and began looking for a place to rest. After hours of hiking he found himself on a small cliff overlooking the valley in the side of the western mountain. He looked around and found a small cavern at the end of the cliff. After making sure the cavern was empty (he was in no mood to fight with a bear for the ownership of the cave. He could hurt the poor animal) he found his way to the rear of the cave and sat down, leaning on the cave wall. He fell quickly asleep.


	2. Part 1, Chapter 2: The Newborn

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Of Past and Future: The tale of a Traveller

Disclaimer: Me no own Star Fox! Nintendo own SF! Me own Skysoar!

A good load of fighting in this chappy. The next one will hold plenty of thinking and a flashback.

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Chapter 2- The Newborn

For the following few days Skysoar mainly hunted and foraged for food to store in his cave lair. He had gathered a good storage of firewood in the back of the cave and had moved some bushes to the ledge to hide the cavern mouth. Lacking any resons to leave the cave besides to gather supplies, Skysoar used most of his time sitting and thinking when awake. When asleep his mind seemed to travel back to remember his past.

Skysoar had been sleeping uneasily and awoke suddenly. He had dreamt of his past.. but he could not recall the details. The dream had been filled with the smell of burning wood. Even when awake he thought he could smell smoke. Wait up.. he _could_ smell smoke. Skysoar stepped on the ledge and had a look around. The snowy valley before him seemed unchanged.. except for a pillar of thick, black smoke rising from the northern part of the valley.

Skysoar made haste travelling to the source of the smoke. Soon he could see the base of the pillar- a caravan.. of the remains of one. Three large wagons were burning in the middle of the valley. Several smaller wagons were scattered around them. Screams and the clash of metal against metal could be heard echoing off the mountains. The snow surrounding the site had been stained black and blood red.

Skysoar growled and revealed his fangs. His azure scales were standing on their edges and his tail was making small swings of barely witheld fury. _"Shandar´ai" _he rumbled to himself. "Bandits."

Skysoar quickly approached the caravan, concealing himself among the trees. He could smell the foul scents of blood and charred flesh, feeding his wrath and bringing him dangerously close to the edge of the infamous Draconian combat fury. The Draconian growled to himself and concentrated. His cloven hands drew intricate patterns in the air as he uttered words of ancient Draconian. Skysoar felt fire and thunder coursing through his veins as the spell was completed.

The air around the Draconian shimmered and black plates of armor materialized on Skysoar as his spell bent reality to do his bidding. 

Soon Skysoar had been covered in plates of black and silver steel combat armor. A black pair of ankle bracers and greaves adorned with silver edges covered his legs from ankle upwards. The cuirass was a large set of black steel plates with silver details, designed to protect him from harm while not limiting his movement. The back of the suit had two long, thin slits where his azure wings sprouted through the metal. His arms were covered in pauldrons and gauntlets of heavy black steel. His head was protected with a specially crafted black helm covering his head entirely except for his lower jaw. The helmet had small slits in the sides for his ears and small holes on the top for his horns. The left side of the breastplate was decorated with a detailed image of a silver dragon spreading its wings.

Skysoar felt the magic of the armor pulse with his heartbeat. The armor had been forged by the best Draconian smith who ever lived and Skysoar had poured much of his own power into it. The enchantments he had placed into the suit made it lighter and stronger- Skysoar barely felt the weight of the armor, and yet it could take a beating from an angry minotaur- and allowed him to magically conjure the suit on him, regardless of the world- or plane- he was on. The suit had served him well for centuries during his Traveling and would do so for millenia to come.

Skysoar growled and stepped out of the woods, his suit reflecting the red light of the flames, making the Draconian appear like a demon spawned in the deepest pits of the nine Hells. A small part of the Draconian felt nearly sorry for any unlucky bandits foolish enough to cross his path- the rest of him craved for the smell of terror and the fury of combat.

The scene of destruction before him disgusted Skysoar. Blood and flesh strewn all around, corpses lying in pools of blood. The scent of blood and death was overwhelming. Skysoar kneeled to study closer one of the bodies. The creature lying in a puddle of crimson blood was basically humanoid with a startlingy odd appearance. Skysoar was looking at the corpse of an anthropomorphic dog- a being resembling a human/hound hybrid slightly over five feet tall and suited in a silvery uniform Skysoar did not recognise. There were no visible markings on the suit except for a small insignia depicting a shield with the image of a rising sun. "Most likely some kind of a guard of some kind" Skysoar thought. "It is too well suited to be a bandit." 

Skysoar rose back to his feet, an eight-and-a-half foot tall tower of black and silver steel and blue scales. He quickly made his way through the destruction zone towards the sounds of combat. The sight at the northern end of the caravan appalled him. 

A lone caravan guard, suited in a silvery uniform similar to the suit on the body he had seen was fighting against a group of five armored bandits, using a spiked mace of some kind. Judging from the corpses around him, he had already felled two more bandits before. Still the movement of the warrior had a sense of desperation. He appeared to be quickly tiring.

"Five against one? Not only are the _shandar´ai_ fools, they are also cowards!" Skysoar rumbled to himself. "Time to even the odds.." The fighters had not yet noticed the Draconian. A mistake the bandits would not have time to regret. Skysoar opened his mouth and spreadt his wings. A deep, low rumbling sound came from his stomach and seemed to rise towards his throat while growing in volume. 

One of the bandits took a glance around and was about to shout a warning when Skysoar exhaled suddenly. A roaring sound like a thunderclap was heard as a brilliant bolt of lightning issued from Skysoar´s mouth, knocking the bandit back several feet back, leaving a gaping hole to the chest of the bandit. Skysoar roared a challenge as he leapt towards the closest bandit, his wings beating furiously, leaving behind clouds of snow kicked up by the nudden gust caused by his wings. His claws left deep rends to the bandit´s flesh as he was subdued by over four hundred pounds of steel-covered Draconian. 

Two of the three remaining bandits turned to face the battle-crazed Draconian. They seemed startled, but confident as Skysoar seemed to be unarmed. 

"Bring it on, fools" Skysoar growled in a voice like distant thunder. _"Grad´ai."_ The Draconian word for `blades`. Skysoar´s battle gauntlets shimmered as his command activated an enchantment within his armor. The small bulges on his gauntlets seemed to flow like water and stretched into two long, slightly curved blades reaching almost three feet beyond his knuckles.

Skysoar only barely noticed the look of pure horror on the face of the taller bandit –a wolf of some kind- as the Draconian spun around, blocked a powerful sword blow with his left blade and struck with his right. Blood seeped out of the long gash Skysoar had left when the bandit fell to his knees, eyes glazing over. Skysoar slammed his wings down and leaped backwards to dodge a thrust from a long spear the second bandit was using. The bandit´s victorious grin turnad into a look of amazement and pain as Skysoar spun both of his blades rapidly, striking the spear and leaving only a short stump from the stalk of the spear.. and severing entirely the right hand of the bandit. The pained scream of the bandit cut abruptly and turned into an odd gurgle as Skysoar stepped forward and swung both of his blades horizontally crossed, cutting through flesh and bone and decapitating the bandit. 

Skysoar turned back just in time to see the last bandit had fallen and the caravan guard was collapsing to the ground. Skysoar´s twin katars retracted and he grabbed the fallen warrior, aiding him carefully to a half sitting position. The guard seemed to be some kind of a white fox anthropomorph. Blood was seeping slowly from a long, horizontal gash in his chest. The fox spoke in a low, faint voice in a language Skysoar could recognize as a strange dialect of a language spoken in a Human world he had visited so long ago.

"Thank ..you. But.. who.. you..?" 

"I am a friend" Skysoar assumed in a low voice. "Rest now. I´ll bandage your wounds."

The fallen warrior managed a small chuckle. "Thank.. you.. too.. late. Dying. Help.."

"Help you? How?" Skysoar asked.

The fox locked his gaze into Skysoar´s eyes. The grey eyes of the fox were dim with pain and the approaching end. "Not.. me.. the child.. must.. protect.. child in.. wagon.. Promise.."

"You want me to protect a child in the wagon?"

"Yes. Promise.. guard.. she must.. protected.. promise.."

Skysoar raised his right hand. "I will protect her. This I swear by my honor and my right hand."

The fox seemed relieved and lied back down. "Good.. thank.. you.. she…" The fallen warrior drew deep breath and closed his eyes. A deep sigh escaped his chest and he laid still.

Skysoar touched the fallen one gently. The first sentient being he had met on this world was dead.. after requiring an oath of honor from Skysoar. 

"Rest well. I will guard her to my last breath. This I swear by my right hand and by the name of my god Dachar, the Dragon of Ages."

Deep silence had filled the battlefield. Nothing was moving except the for dancing flames. The bandits had been defeated.. but the caravaners had also fallen. Only Skysoar was left in the battlefield standing. 

Skysoar rose to his feet and opened the door of the wagon the fallen guardian was lying against. There, in the wagon, was a small bundle wrapped in white cloth. Skysoar picked the bundle gently up. "You must be the one I am to guard. Let us have a look at you, _dal´rann.._" 

Skysoar carefully unwrapped the cloth around the child. He was holding a small bundle of white fur in his hands. The child was a very small fox anthro. She was sized like a human baby and covered in a thin layer of dazzlingly white fur. Her small, but perfect hands were humanlike with five thin fingers. Her feet were like a mixture of human and fox features with humanlike legs and a pawlike feet with three toes. The appearance of the child was strange to Skysoar with her short vulpine muzzle and a small black spot of a nose among the white fur at the tip of her face. Her ears were small, triangular flaps of skin and fur on the top of the head. But it was not the body of the child that sent chills moving down Skysoar´s spine. It was the eyes of the child. They were mandel-shaped and large, colored bright blue like Skysoar´s scales but with a slight hue of purple. 

Skysoar had never seen eyes like that before.. except.. "Cloudkeep?" Skysoar wispered silenty as the flow of memories struck him like a tidal wave.


	3. Part 1, Chapter 3: Memories and Caring

**Of Past and Future: The tale of a Traveller**

**Disclaimer:** Lemme check.. Nope. Don´ own Star Fox or the characters, Nintendo owns ´em. I _do _own a copy of SFA though, and Skysoar and his family are mine.

The first part of the chapter is a flashback, in case you happened to be interested. 

Oh, and one more thing:

"This" means that a person is speaking.

This means the text is the author (that would be me) speaking or translating the Draconian pieces.

Do enjoy.

**Chapter 3- Memories and Caring**

_It had been a warm autumn day. Skysoar had been training in the mountain range and was returning home, travelling through the autumn forest. Suddenly the wind brought the smell of smoke to his sensitive nose. The wind was blowing from the east.. where his home was. A sudden feeling of dread washed over Skysoar as he accelerated his pace from walking to running. "Dachar.. Protect my family with thine sacred breath.." Skysoar thought, praying to the Draconian deity, the Dragon of Ages. _

_When Skysoar reached the hilltop overseeing his home, the smell of smoke was overwhelming. The small wooden structure serving as their humble abode had been set ablaze. Skysoar rushed down the hill to his house, screaming out the names of his wife and daughter. _

_"Torrent! Cloudkeep! _Gar´shar´ai!_" _My beloved ones: Gar´- (my) shar (love, beloved) + -´ai (plural)

_He got no answer. Undaunted by the hellish flames, Skysoar entered his burning house to hind his mate, Torrent, a beautiful red Draconian lying in a pool of her own blood in her room. _

"Ner.._ Torrent.. _Gar´shar´rann..Ner!""No.. Torrent.. my love (female).. No!"

_Skysoar found no trace of their White daughter, Cloudkeep, and proceeded to drag Torrent out of the burning building. It was clear, however, that she was already beyond mortal help. She had breathed her last before Skysoar had even arrived._

_Mourning over his beloved, Skysoar proceeded to check the sand surrounding the house for tracks. There! Five creatures in boots had came from the south. Five had left.. with two leaning on the others. Skysoar grinned darkly. Torrent had put up a fight. One of the intruders had been carrying something when they had left. Cloudkeep?_

_Skysoar kneeled down and sniffed the air. The Draconian sense of smell was superior to most sentient races, approximately at the same level then that of a dog.. with some Draconians more like at that of a bloodhound. Skysoar got back a bundle of sensations from his sensitive nose. Beyond the smell of fire and smoke.. Five humans in leather equipment.. charred flesh.. human and Draconian blood.. Cloudkeep. Her scent made Skysoar´s golden eyes burnt dim red for a moment. She had been alive. Skysoar would find her of die trying. Wait.. What was that? There was a scent Skysoar could not recognize at first. A dusty and spicy smell.. like burned herbs.. Incense? Yes. Incense. Who would go around smelling like incense? Maybe a priest.. but what kind of priest would attack a Draconian dwelling posing no threat whatsoever?_

_Skysoar rose and shook his head. He would get nowhere just sitting there. He was ready to follow the scents imprinted in his mind. First he would have to bury Torrent.._

Skysoar was awoken from his thoughts by the high-pitched sound of a crying baby. He shook his head, scolding himself for his sudden weakness. 

"It is not safe here.." Skysoar thought. "Let us return to the cave. This wind cannot be good for the health of the child.."

Back at the cave Skysoar dispelled his armor, the steel plates dissolving back in to the nothingness Skysoar had conjured it from. The child had begun squirming in Skysoar´s hands, whimpering slightly. Instinctively Skysoar raised the child up to his chest, sharing what heat his body could offer with her while whispering in a low voice.

_"Scha´vachh, dal´rann.. Daar gar´grel´dynn, dal.."_ _"Silence, little girl.. Feel my heart beat, child.."_ The child calmed down and seemed to look for something from Skysoar´s muscular, scale-covered chest. She whimpered again when she did not find what she was looking for. It took Skysoar a moment to realize the child was hungry. Skysoar was perplexed; he had not the faintest idea what to feed her. He was certainly unable to give her milk (like mammalian species used to feed their young) and Skysoar was fairly sure the child was as yet unable to eat meat. Skysoar went through his meager food supplies and found the berries he had been collecting from the woods. Maybe.. Skysoar made the berries into a smooth, thin paste and proceeded to dip his claw right index claw- not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed bad pun intended into it. He carefully offered the claw to the baby who smelled it carefully before licking the claw tentatively. She soon noticed the sweet flavor and licked the appendage clean. Skysoar smiled to himself. This was not so hard. Soon he had fed all of the paste to the child. 

After she had had enough, the child quickly got drowsy. Soon she was sleeping in Skysoar´s arms. She was so calm.. and still she had been in mortal danger earlier this day. Skysoar´s smile faded. Tomorrow he would have to take care of the dead. Having the child with him would make things more complicated. Skysoar could easily live by hunting for food and foraging for edible plants- but the child could not. She would need food and constant protection.. things he would maybe be unable to provide her. He could easily fend for himself and survive for long periods without food, but she was so fragile and vulnerable.. 
"What do I do with you, _dal´rann_?" Skysoar asked the sleeping child. "I surely cannot leave you here all alone.. I promised that fox I would take care of you, and breaking that vow would make me even worse then the _shandar´ai _bandits: shandar (bandit) + -´ai (plural) that did this to you. As much as I wanted to, I cannot raise you as my own.." Skysoar´s voice faded. If he was right, and the child truly was the reincarnation of his lost daughter, Cloudkeep, he would have to make sure she got all the care she could get. In this mountainside cave she would not survive for long. "I´ll need to get you to somewhere better than this, Cloudkeep.." Skysoar thought. 

He had decided. He would gather supplies for travel and try to find their way to a town.. There he would be able to get help. Skysoar sighed deeply. He was tired. Tomorrow he would need to see to the dead and to check the remaining wagons for supplies. Skysoar eyed the sleeping child wearily. Skysoar could easily withhold the cold night without any kind of fire with his reptilian make, but the child could not. She had to stay warm.. 
Skysoar lit a small fire using his breath attack and settled to sit next to the flames. He set his tail on a coil and sat on it, spreading his wings. He lowered his head below his shoulders and locked the claws in the central joints in his wings the thumblike claws in the middle of the wings together above his head. He brought the tips of his wings together and lowered them so that the tips of the bones supporting the wings touched the ground. Skysoar smiled to himself. The thick membrane of his wings would let heat pass through into the cone he had formed from them, but would also keep the heat in. 

"The great Draconian Skysoar, the Traveller, terror of bandits.. working as a living tent for a toothless fox-child. If only Torrent would see me now.." 
Skysoar made sure he would not poke the child with his horns while asleep and closed his eyes. He soon dozed off while holding the child in his arms. 


	4. Part 1, Chapter 4: The New Form

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Of Past and Future: The tale of a Traveller

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Fox. Star Fox and all the characters (except Skysoar and his family; they belong to me) belong to Nintendo. Lawyers, put down the briefcases. I also note that I get nothing out of this. pulls out a shotgun I SAID, DROP THE CASES! Good. Thank you.

Long chapter. Took me the whole friggin´ day to write.

Chapter 4- The New Form

The sun rose slowly to bathe the mountain range in golden rays. Something moved in a cold mountainside cave. In the back of the cave was something that looked like a small blue conical tent with two curved bone spikes on the top. The leathery sides seemed to pulse slowly as if something had been breathing inside. Suddenly a bright sound was emitted from within the object and the pulsing stopped. The tent seemed to split in two. 

What had appeared to be the sides of the tent proved to be the batlike wings of a blue dragonlike being with golden eyes, sitting on the floor of the cave and holding a bundle of white fur. The high-pitched sounds were coming from the bundle, which, on a closer look, appeared to be a small anthropomorphic fox child.

Skysoar awoke in the morning when the child he was holding began to cry. Groggily he rose to his feet and stretched his wings. 

"Morning, _dal´rann._ You must be hungry. Let's see if I have any berries left.." 

He proceeded to make more of the paste he had given her before and feed it to her.

"I cannot keep feeding you berries forever.." Skysoar thought. Foxes were carnivorous, after all. 

"We need to see if there is anything useful in the caravan. Seeing to the dead will take nearly the whole day.."

The child whimpered at him and he looked down at her.

"What is it, _dal´rann_?" Skysoar poked her gently in the stomach and got back a small giggle. He smiled and brought the tip of his tail above the child. He wriggled the tip and touched her nose gently with it. Soon she was following every movement the leaflike appendage on the tip was making with her eyes, reaching up to try and grab it. Skysoar smiled at her, playing with her until she dozed off again.

"Hrmm.. let's see now.. We will need more food and some supplies.. and I will need to be able to mask myself if we are to find someone. No need to scare people looking like this.."

Skysoar sighed and shook his head.

"It is strange, actually.. So many worlds I remember, and many more that I do not recall.. and still the natives in all of them feared my appearance. It gets to be depressing.."

He sighed and wrapped the cloth she had been covered in back around the child. 

"We must go outside, _dal´rann.._ Skysoar whispered to her. "Sleep well. We will return soon.."

Outside the cold mountain winds carried snow towards the still smoldering remains of the caravan. Skysoar spread his wings and leapt off the cliff. For a split second his wings fluttered before getting filled with the wind. Skysoar heard two loud slamming sounds like sails picking up the ocean winds and felt a sharp jerk as the wing membranes stretched to keep him airborne. He beat the air with his wings and took a sharp turn right. The leaflike plate in his tail suddenly seemed to grow as what had looked like solid bone turned out to be several long bone spikes bound together with a thin membrane. The spikes twitched and turned, unfolding the membrane and turning the plate into a kite-shaped pad Skysoar used to help guide his flight. Wind blared in his ears and his blood pulsed with his wings as Skysoar turned his long snout downwards and started to glide, first slowly, but gathering speed in his descent, towards the caravan remains to the north. Every cell in his body pulsed with the excitement of flight. A single mistake in turning his wings could result in falling for a good two hundred feet before meeting the hard, unforgiving earth. 

Skysoar felt more alive then in ages. This was the reason he had been named Skysoar; The one who soars the skies. He was created for flying through the clouds, exploring the earth from the viewpoint of a bird. For a moment he pitied the creatures bound to the ground, Draconian and others. Only the Blue, White and Silver species of Draconian could fly. Black and Gold Draconians did not have wings at all; the Red, Green, Bronze, Copper and Brass Draconians had wings, but they were not strong enough for direct flight, and were only capable of hovering or gliding for short distances. So far Skysoar had not met any other sentient species capable of flying. 

It was amazing to feel the wind tugging at his scales, the joy of diving, or the way he could see for miles away from the heights. He felt free of any earthly needs, only feeling the thirst of speed and the fury of the winds. He would fly higher and higher until he could see the entire world from above, he would..

Skysoar shook his head, snapping out of his thoughts. He had work to do. Skysoar glanced around to get his bearings and corrected his flight path. He turned down to gain more speed. He dived towards the caravan remains and folded his wings slightly to accelerate his descent. Gradually picking up speed, he dove towards the wagons like a giant falcon swooping down to grab its prey. Seconds before he would have crashed into the snowy ground he spread his wings to the fullest and pulled his nose upwards. A loud WHAM! echoed off the mountains the second time as his wings were instantly filled with air. Skysoar felt a strong wrench in his body as his descent stopped abruptly some mere five feet off the ground. The momentum actually pulled him slightly upwards before he fell on his feet into the snowy earth. He folded his wings and looked around.

He had landed straight to the middle of the former battlezone. The remains of the caravan were still untouched. The flames had burnt out during the night, but the remains of the burnt wagons in the middle of the road were still smoldering. Several still intact wagons surrounded them. Guard and bandit corpses were strewn all around. The cold climate had slowed down any decomposition- they had not yet begun to smell. Skysoar set the still sleeping child onto the table of a nearby wagon and set to work. He would need all the wood he could get to build a pyre, meaning he would have to take apart the still intact wagons. He decided to first gather all the supplies he could before building the pyre.

He looked longingly at the deep blue sky and growled. Already had a flock of birds begun circling the caravan remains. Vultures.

"Filthy creatures.." Skysoar growled and took aim. A bolt of lightning lanced out of his mouth at the flock. One of the black birds spun around and fell, leaving behind a trail of smoke and feathers. Three more fell before the rest got the hint and scattered. Skysoar blew away the thin wisps of ozone-smelling smoke rising from his nostrils and set to work.

For the next hour he scoured the wagons for anything useful. Soon he had gathered a neat pile of food, bowls and such he could need near the wagons. He had found a map from one of the larger wagons. He was unable to decipher the text on the map, but judging from the distance between the hills he had appeared in and the mountain ranges, it would take him nearly a month to travel to the nearest city. Skysoar frowned. The cities were far enough to make travelling difficult with a small child. He would need all the food he could carry to support the child during the travel.

Then there were the people. Skysoar had noticed that all the bodies surrounding him were approximately five feet tall. Skysoar himself was nearly eight and a half feet tall- if not counting the wings or the horns. His size alone, let alone his appearance, would make it impossible to fit in.

"I will have to use my magic.." Skysoar thought.

He was a warrior, not a mage. Though most Draconians were unmatched in magical power, Skysoar had never been exactly talented in channeling arcane powers. At best his powers of spellcraft were usually at the level of an average Human mage. The spell he needed was a relatively simple one, but would make him vulnerable. As much as he disliked the idea, he would have to resort in magic.

Skysoar set to seek out a fitting body. He would need a relatively unharmed, male fox corpse. After searching through all the bodies on the site he had come to the conclusion that the only fitting candidate was the fox warrior that had given him the child.

Skysoar studied the body intently and sighed. He did not know how he could desecrate a noble warrior like he was about to, but he had no choice. Skysoar only hoped that the fox would not have minded had he known. He sighed and spoke to the fallen fox before initiating the rites.

"Forgive me, friend, but this must be done.. _Aa, Dachar, dar´ger´sha´wyr Schaa´Zor chrall dar´shraam.."_ "O Dachar, thy humble servant Skysoar seeks thine aid.."

Skysoar kept chanting in ancient Draconian as he made a small wound to the forehead of the fallen one with his claw. His hands danced as he drew arcane Draconian runes in the air above the fallen warrior. His golden eyes shone their own eerie light as his voice grew in strength. A flash of golden light was emitted from Skysoar´s eyes as he completed the spell. Something like white mist seemed to rise out of the eyes and the mouth of the corpse and enter Skysoar´s body through his mouth.

Skysoar´s eyes glowed brightly for a second as he rose and swayed from exhaustion. Skysoar closed his eyes and whispered silently to the body and to his deity, Dachar, who had lent him power.

__

"Chavass." Thank you.

Skysoar closed his eyes and concentrated. Something within him was pulsing with power, something he had not had before. Skysoar touched the.. essence.. now within him with his mind and activated the newfound ability.

Instantly he felt a change. It felt like his whole body was squirming, stretching and boiling. He fell to his knees writhing in pain. It began with his wings. The thick membrane between the bones of the wings started to shrink away, leaving two skeletal arms sticking from his back. They writhed and shrunk, the bones slowly dissolving into his back. The strong muscles previously moving the wings shrunk along them, aligning to become a part of his back muscles. His scaled seemed to turn soft and shatter, turning into long, soft fur. His tail shrunk into a thin, short ghost of what it had been and long fur blossomed over it. His hands felt like on fire as his strong claws lost their vicious talons and turned into thin and long fingers. Smaller fifth fingers grew out of his hands, turning them into humanlike contraptions with a short layer of fur. His feet lost their long claws as the legs changed into more humanlike proportions. His horns shrunk and molded to be one with his skull as his ears turned triangular and moved up onto the top of his head. His snout changed into a short, thin muzzle and the teeth changed into a vulpine configuration. His eyes seemed to move closer to each other as his skull changed shape from a reptilian, long and low form into a short and high vulpine form. All over his body bones shrunk and changed form as he seemed to shrink nearly four feet.

When he had regained control the eight-and-a-half-foot Draconian had been replaced with a five-foot-tall fox. It looked just like the fallen guard except his fur had been white, whereas the fur of this being was deep azure blue. Also the eyes were bright gold instead of dim gray.

Skysoar shakily stood back up and studied his new body. The spell had been completely successful. It felt strange to lose some limbs and gain others. The muscles in his back twitched furiously as he fought back the urge to spread his now nonexistent wings. His hands felt strange with five long and slender fingers instead of four strong and sharp claws. Skysoar flinched as strange new sensations washed over him. He felt suddenly very vulnerable without his hard scales and powerful claws. At least he still had fangs.

Strange trickling sensations washed over him as his fur reacted to the cold wind. Skysoar looked at himself and decided to look for something to cover himself with. Some.. things.. were much better protected -and concealed- in the Draconian body.

By the time Skysoar had found some clothes fit for him, he had gotten quite used to his alternative form. He glanced at his mirror image approvingly. Black leather trousers and a sleeveless, black leather jacket covered his body without restricting his movement. He had found a pair of black leather boots reinforced with steel to cover his paws. Unlike his Draconian claws, his paws were soft and vulnerable. Much of this new body was. The fur, though soft, felt warm and silky to the touch. Skysoar liked the way his fur and clothes felt.

Skysoar smiled and concentrated. His clothes seemed to melt and become one with his fur before the process that had changed his body was replayed in reverse motion. Moments later he was standing there in all of his Draconian glory. The process had still felt painful, but not as disturbing as before. He closed his eyes again and transmorphed back into his fox form. Fox, with clothes on. Draconian, with no clothes. Good, it seemed to work.

"Hello.. what have we here?"

Skysoar had noticed a pair of black steel bracelets with silvery decorations. He tried them on and they seemed to fit perfectly, covering his furry arms between his elbows and wrists. Skysoar glanced once more at the mirror and reverted back to his true form.

The sound of a crying baby startled Skysoar back to reality. He had nearly forgotten about her. He had found some milk in sealed containers that, miraculously, had not spoiled yet. He fed her until she had had enough. Skysoar smiled at her, mentally scolding himself for forgetting the passage of time. Evening had already come. He would have to hurry.

Skysoar did not know the ways of burial typical of this world, so he resorted to his Draconian teachings. He gathered all the bandit corpses into a nearby clearing. Onto the fallen bandits he gathered a funeral pyre from the remains of the caravan wagons. As the evening grew darker, Skysoar moved the fallen guards and caravaners onto the pyre. He gathered all the weapons he had found onto the pyre and laid them at the feet of the fallen warriors.

Skysoar sent a short prayer to his god. "Dachar, let their souls move on in peace.."

He lifted the child up to his chest and ignited the pyre with a well-aimed lightning bolt. As the flames burnt high and bright, Skysoar raised his gaze up to the sky where some stars had already appeared. He opened his mouth and drew deep breath, closing his eyes.

A long, bright and clear call ensued and echoed off the mountains. The single voice slowly turned into a wordless, haunting melody the echoes multiplied. Reverberating off the cliffs and trees, the echoes made it sound like there had been hundreds of Draconians in the valley, mourning over the fallen champions in an ancient Draconian ritual.

Through his near-trance state Skysoar suddenly heard a second voice join his. Amazed, Skysoar glanced down at the child he was holding while continuing on with the song. The pup had raised her small muzzle and was following along Skysoar´s melody nearly flawlessly.


	5. Part 1, Chapter 5: The Hammer

****

Of Past and Future: The tale of a Traveller

Disclaimer: Do I have to repeat this in every chapter? Sigh OK. I do not own anything that belongs to Nintendo well, duh. Kapische? Good.

****

Chapter 5-

Skysoar was perched on a thick branch over twenty feet high like an oversized bird of prey covered in azure scales. He was waiting for something edible to stray near him. He had been there for the past three hours and was slowly beginning to get ticked off. So far he had seen only three squirrels and a drowsy owl. 

"What would I give for a juicy pig.." he thought to himself. Then he remembered one of the bandits had been a boar anthro and shivered. 

"Damn. Now I´ll never eat pork like I used to.." He snorted at his own lame joke. "The boredom must be really getting to me.. If I do not catch anything soon, we will be back eating dried meat and berries."

A sudden gust of wind brought the smell of charred wood from the funeral pyre. It had taken the entire night for the pyre to burn out, and it had been smoking for the following two days straight. Skysoar had been collecting supplies for traveling south, and training himself. He had used his free time to getting used to his alternative form. He had noticed that his vulpine form was much faster and more agile then his heavy Draconian body, though lacking the immense strength. His sense of hearing was much better in his fox form than in Draconian form, but the eyesight of the fox, though good, was inferior compared to his Draconian vision, especially as the field of vision of the fox vas considerably more narrow than his Draconian view. Skysoar still suspected that the spell had fortified the senses of his fox body. He did not know why his fur had been blue instead of white, but he did not care of it that much. An interesting fact, however, was that his initially weak fox body had soon been strengthened to a level closer to the strength of his true form. He had learned to use the slender and nimble fingers of his fox body (although he still tended to forget to use his fifth fingers), but he still had to cope with losing his wings. More then once he had nearly jumped off a cliff before remembering to transmorph back to his Draconian self. Also, as a small sidenote, he had noticed that his soft fur was much harder to keep clean than his hard Draconian scales. Nevertheless, the only truly disturbing flaw in his fox body was the absence of his thunder breath weapon.

The wind turned and brought a new scent to Skysoar´s nostrils. He slowly turned his head towards the scent.

"Well hello there.."

A small deer had appeared some fifty feet to his left. The wind was blowing towards Skysoar, so the deer had not smelled him yet. Skysoar opened his mouth and took aim. The deer fell down smoking. Skysoar whisked away the smoke flowing from his nostrils and dropped off the branch. He used his wings to slow down his fall and landed nearly silently.

Skysoar smiled at his handiwork. A deep scorch mark showed where his lightning bolt had hit home- right in the middle of the neck.

"Damn I'm good. Let's get you back to the cave, shall we?"

Back at the cave Skysoar was greeted with an intense blue stare and a small scream.

"Hello, _dal´rann._ Did you miss me?" She just looked back and made small noises. She had become much more active during the last few days and Skysoar was sure she could recognize him. Oddly enough, she did seem to recognize him no matter which form he has in.

Skysoar roasted the deer over a small fire and boiled some of the meat and herbs in a cauldron he had found in the caravan. Normally he would have just eaten the deer raw, but he had noticed the pup had begun growing rather promising (not to mention sharp) fangs. Actually, he had been awakened suddenly one morning when something fluffy with _very_ sharp fangs had attacked his tail. Skysoar smiled at the pup who was suddenly very interested in a fly buzzing around the cave. 

He shook his head and resumed cooking. Soon he had a small bowl of soup with small pieces of soft meat in it. Skysoar had never thought of himself as much of a cook, but the mix did smell good. He made sure the soup was not too hot and proceeded to offer some to the child. She seemed to like the change in her diet, as most of the stew was swiftly consumed.

"Hm. If I can give you nearly solid food, _dal´rann,_ it will not be long before we can travel."

Currently their stashes had enough food to support them for nearly two months. Most of it, though, was dried travel food and not very easy for the child to eat. They could not afford to notice halfway their travel that they had run out of food that she could eat. She had grown nearly three pounds in a short time and needed food often. 

The short, white fur of the child had grown into a thick and silky layer like pure snow. Skysoar had taken a habit of grooming her fur daily, and she seemed to enjoy these sessions. Skysoar smiled and glanced at the sleeping child. Partly unknown to him, his Draconian instincts had kicked in the moment he had held her the first time. Anything attempting to harm her would have to come through him first. He would fight for her to the last breath.. which could very well destroy the attacker. 

Skysoar looked out of the cave, sighing deeply. They would need to leave before the weather turned for the worse. The winds in the valley had slowly been turning colder and colder. Not that he minded the change in temperature- it was all the same to him. The child was an entirely different story however, as the cold could become hazardous for her.

Skysoar decided to make a small circle around the valley. He had not flown in a good time, and his wings had seemed to itch of dormancy. The joy of flight never seemed to grow old, for there was always something new and different, as the winds and thermal currents changed continuously. From the heights there were no visible remains left of the caravan. Only the black splotch of the funeral pyre could be seen. A small glitter from the pyre caught Skysoar´s eye. "What is that?"

Skysoar slammed his wings and swooped down to see closer. Something was on the pile of ashes. He took in a deep breath and dove. Moments before landing he spread his wings to break his fall. He landed knee deep in black and gray ashes. The force of his wings spread around a small cloud of ashes. Only ashes were visible in the pile.. not even bones had remained after the flames had burnt out. The object he had seen was partly buried on the center of the pile. Skysoar slammed his wings forcefully some times to blow off the soot and proceeded to grab the item.

He was holding the spiked mace the fox warrior who had given him his charge had been using. The searing flames of the pyre had not damaged the weapon in any way, but it still felt warm to the touch. The previously dull gray color of the two-foot long weapon had been changed into jet black. Skysoar cleaned off the soot from the weapon, revealing several silvery inch-long thorns on the end. He took some swings with the mace.

"Hm. Well balanced.."

Skysoar took a swing at a small tree and was dumbstruck when the mace took a large piece of the branch with it.

"What on.."

Skysoar eyed the mace carefully and send a probing thought at the mace. He got back a strong pulse of raw magic. His golden eyes widened. A _magical_ weapon? It had not been magical when he had placed it in the pyre. Had the pyre changed the mace? He had heard stories of weapons blessed in sacred funeral pyres, but why would have Dachar blessed this particular mace?

Skysoar was standing in the middle of cold plains. No life was visible. Dark storm clouds were covering the sky. Suddenly a bolt of lightning crashed down from the dark sky, exploding on the earth right in front of him. In the bottom of the crater was lying a fabulous warhammer, seemingly made out of pure lightning and storm clouds. Skysoar bowed to pick up the weapon, and it changed in his hands. He was holding a black spiked mace, adorned with silvery decorations and thorns. 

Skysoar shook out of the trance and eyed the weapon he was holding with new respect. The mace seemed to crackle with pure magic in his hands. In his vision.. a hammer made of pure storm..

"_Zor´Schrann? _The Stormhammer?"

The mace crackled with electricity and pulsed with energy in his hands, acknowledging his presence and submitting to his command.


	6. Part 1, Chapter 6: Departure

****

Of Past and Future: The Tale of a Traveller

Disclaimer: Nintendo owns Star Fox and all characters included therein. I own Skysoar/Sky, Cloudkeep and other characters you do not recognize.

Finally we´re getting somewhere. Mostly talk in this chapter, plenty fighting in the next.

****

Chapter 6- Departure

Early in the morning two days since he had found his new mace _Zor´Schrann_, the Stormhammer, Skysoar was practicing with his Draconian dual blades on the ledge. He had summoned his armor and was going through his training cycle. His blades shimmered and danced as he moved fluidly from one move to the other. Parry, left slash, thrust, horizontal swipe, crossparry.. 

Skysoar had begun slowly to warm up and gradually increased speed. The Draconian seemed to dance as he spun around, swiping with his tail before raising his blades to a crossparry. His cloven feet left white scratch marks to the gray stone as he shuffled his feet to a more secure position. He used his wings to stay in balance and struck with both of his blades. He leapt backwards and struck forcefully with his wings, raising a cloud of thin snow and dust.

A small flash of light caught his eye as he spun around in a spin attack. Skysoar quickly retracted his blades and dispelled his armor, dropping to his feet while looking for the source of the flash.

A rider was coming from the northern part of the valley. Shortly thereafter a large wagon appeared, following the rider. They were followed by several more riders and wagons.

"A caravan? Headed south? We are in luck.." Skysoar rumbled to himself and concentrated.

He seemed to shrink and blue fur burst out of his scales. Seconds later he was kneeling on the edge of the cliff in his fox form. He made sure the Stormhammer was strapped securely to his back. It was. 

The mace was far from being as subtle or fast as his dual katars, but it was incredibly powerful as a weapon. Besides, in fox form, he was unable to use his katars, as they were a permanent part of his suit- which he could not use for obvious reasons. He would be prepared for anything.

Skysoar smirked and began to make his way to the first rider.

*~*~*

Skysoar had not tried to conceal himself in any way, but the rider seemed truly surprised to see someone appear in his way.

"Halt! Who are you?" Skysoar studied the rider quickly before answering. The guard- a hound anthro of some sort- seemed nervous.

"A lone traveler seeking refuge from bandits." he answered in a low voice. 

"Could you, sir, be so kind as to take me to the caravan leader?"

*~*~*

The caravan master appeared to be a seemingly old gray-brown rabbit anthro of some type. Two (very) large guards had escorted Skysoar to him. They had allowed him to keep the Stormhammer, but the looks they gave him made sure he would not try anything- as if he had any intent to. 

The hare had clear blue eyes and an aura of intelligence surrounding him.

"I am Derek Ashall, the caravan master. Who might you be?"

He seemed old, but his eyes shone clear and observant. This man should not be underestimated, Skysoar noted.

"My name is Sky, milord, and I am a warrior."

The hare seemed somewhat amused.

"Please, call me Derek. What would a young warrior like you be doing up here in the wastes?"

Skysoar had had plenty of time to think of a proper cover story and began to speak.

"I was travelling with south in a trade caravan and was separated from them with my charge from the rest of the caravan in a bandit attack."

Skysoar made note of how the guards- and the master- had tensed up visibly at the mention of bandits.

"I have been living up here with my charge for nearly two months now, waiting for a passing caravan."

"Your charge? Who and where is he?"

Skysoar smiled dryly before answering.

"'He' is actually a 'she'. She is a very young fox vixen who has been entrusted in my care. As of where, she is in our cave waiting for me."

Derek seemed to have been taken by surprise. After a short silence the hare cleaned his throat. 

"A young vixen.. Might I ask how old is she?"

Skysoar blinked. He did not know for sure, as he had not had much experience from her particular species.

"I am not entirely sure, mi.. Derek. She has just had her first teeth, but she has not yet tried to move on her own.. I would say she is maybe three to four months old. It is because of her that I come seeking your aid. The journey south is long and I doubt she would have survived the travel with just me. I am willing to offer you my service as a caravan guard if you take us with you."

Derek shook his head silently. "You have put me in quite a predicament, Sky my boy. I cannot just leave you here, especially with a child so small, but our food supplies are diminishing at an alarming rate. We will be hungry at the end of our trek."

Skysoar looked up. "That may not be a problem, Derek. During my time here I have been gathering supplies for my protégéé and myself. I have nearly a month's worth of food for the two of us stashed in my cave. Most of it is dried travel food, and not exactly what I would call 'tasty', but I would be honored to present them to you."

"And I would be just as honored to accept your offer. I will send three of my men to aid in transporting your things. We will set camp here and depart tomorrow morning."

Skysoar made a bowed slightly. "This means much to me and my charge. Thank you very much, milord."

Derek snorted at Skysoar. "No need to thank me. And call me Derek."

The hare turned at the guards who had escorted Skysoar to him. "Go get someone to help you and go with Sky."

"Yes, master Derek."

Derek shot a pained look at Skysoar as he muttered "And stop calling me 'master'" to the guards.

*~*~*

Skysoar dodged a vertical slash with a quick sidestep to the left and swung the Stormhammer in a wide arc. For a fox his size the mace should have been near impossible to even lift, but some of his Draconian strength had remained even in his disguise. His strength made it possible for him to wield the heavy mace as easily as some used a dagger. The fury of his attack made his opponent step back. Skysoar changed suddenly the direction of his attack and struck the sword of his opponent. The force of the blow made him drop the sword and stumble, falling to his knees.

Skysoar swung the Stormhammer casually over his shoulder and offered his hand to the exhausted caravan guard. 

"You fought very well. Now then.." Skysoar raised his head and his golden eyes scanned the audience around him.

"Anyone else up for some sparring?" 

No one dared to step forth. Skysoar shrugged and turned away.

"So be it. If anyone needs me, I will be with Derek and Cloudkeep."

Derek had insisted that Skysoar should stay in his wagon with the child, and Skysoar had not objected. He liked the old hare, as they thought alike. During the few days Skysoar had been traveling with Derek they had become good friends. Derek had also taken a liking to the little girl (whom they now called Cloudkeep) and acted much like a grandfather for her.

"I saw you training with Simon." Derek greeted Skysoar at the wagon. 

"I still can't believe how you use that mace of yours." 

"Sometimes I cannot believe it myself, my friend." Skysoar grinned at the hare. "It is a great weapon."

Derek just nodded at Skysoar.

"Indeed. Might I have a look at it?" Skysoar unstrapped the Stormhammer from his back and handed the mace to Derek. Derek' s eyes widened as he felt the mace in his hands.

"By the gods, lad, this is heavy! And you wield this behemoth of a club with only one hand?"

Skysoar grimaced. "Only if I have to. 'Tis easier so use with both hands."

Derek just eyed Skysoar wearily and handed the Stormhammer back to him.

"So.." Skysoar began, "How is Cloudkeep?"

Derek gave Skysoar a tired smile. "See for yourself. She is asleep.. again."

"She does that often, does she not?"

"That is the way of children his age, Sky. They sleep, eat and sleep some more."

Skysoar bowed down to see Cloudkeep in her makeshift cradle –Derek's old travel chest with the lid removed. She was so small and fragile, her white fur shining, left thumb in her mouth. Her right ear was standing up like that of an adult fox, but her left was still drooped over, giving her an oddly misshapen look. Her small muzzle was pointing straight upwards, her nose a tiny black spot at the end.

A strong feeling of protectiveness washed over Skysoar as he looked upon the small life before him. 

"She is a beautiful child.." Skysoar mumbled.

"That she is, Sky. I still cannot believe someone would send a child her age on a journey like yours."

Skysoar grimaced wearily. "It was kind of an emergency, Derek."

"You see, her father –a distant relative of mine- is of noble blood among my people. Sadly, his health has been faltering lately. Many believe he will not live to see next summer." Skysoar sighed deeply. He was sorry for tricking a friend, but he had no choice.

"Unfortunately his cousin, a greedy fool, believes he would be perfect to replace the old lord. As Cloudkeep would be the next heir to the throne, the situation is somewhat dangerous for her. My mission was to bring her out of the reach of any plot against her- and beyond the reach of any assassins."

Derek's eyes had grown cold. "Assassins? Against _her?_ The no-good, worthless, slimy piece of.."

"When you have finished, I have some good suggestions of how to go on. I have been trapped up here for nearly two months before you came. That gave me plenty of time to think of fitting titles for my _beloved _relative. I am sure that the bandit attack that left us stranded here was an attempt against her life."

"What will we need to do?" Derek asked. He seemed truly worried for the pup.

"I am to take the child to any southern city to be left for a reliable family. I shall stay hidden close to her to protect her against any harm. There will not be very much for you, my friend, to do. You just take us to any city and forget we ever existed."

Derek blinked. "To be taken to a 'reliable family'? You are to leave her-" Derek motioned towards the sleeping child- " –to some _strangers?_ Why cannot you raise her?"

Skysoar´s expression had grown dark. "I like this even less then you, Derek. I cannot raise her because my kind is rare around here. If her assailant hears of a blue fox warrior with a white daughter, he will quickly put the two together. That would nullify my efforts of pprotecting her. Trust me, if there were any other way, I would use it."


	7. Part 1, Chapter 7: The Attack

Of Past and Future: The Tale of a Traveller

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Fox or the characters of the games. Nintendo owns them. I own Skysoar/Sky, Cloudkeep, Derek and the other characters not in the games.

****

Chapter 7- The Attack

Five days after Skysoar had told Derek their 'story' Skysoar awoke in the middle of the night. A sudden sense of dread washed over him, making every hair in his body stand on their end. He glanced around and met Derek's startled eyes.

"Did you feel it too, Sky?" Skysoar grabbed the Stormhammer and strapped it to his back.

"Yes. Watch the child. I will go see outside." He made sure Cloudkeep was fine before leaving the wagon. He walked up to one of the guards. The hound greeted him briefly before returning his gaze upon their surroundings.

"Your turn isn't up for an hour, Sky." Skysoar nodded.

"I know. I could not sleep, so I figured you would not mind some help. Have you seen anything?"

"Not yet. I just suddenly got this feeling, like someone just walked over my grave."

"I felt it too. Wait.." Skysoar´s ears twitched. "What was that?" A slight rustle had carried to his sensitive ears. He sniffed the air. 

"I cannot smell anything. Something is out there."

A sense of danger made the fur on his spine stand straight up. He grabbed the Stormhammer. Something moved in the darkness before him. He cursed silently the sight of his fox body- though impressive, it was inferior compared to his Draconian sight, lacking his immense low-light vision, not to mention his ability of Infrasight- as a Draconian he could 'see' thermal differences.

Small clicking sounds like stones or dry branches hitting each other were heard. Six dim green lights appeared.

Skysoar stepped back as something entered the light to be seen.

__

"Wake up! Danger! Attack! Wake up!" Skysoar roared to the camp as two more forms joined the first. 

The creatures looked like they had been joined together from several skeletons of varying species, twisted and dark. Long bony claws adorned the fleshless hands of the skeletons. One of the creatures was missing an arm; the second had an extra leg where the tail should have been. Green flames flickered in the empty sockets of their skulls as the skeletons moved to attack.

Skysoar felt a tremor shudder the earth as he moved to confront one of the attackers. Screams and calls echoed in the night as dozens more of the skeletons dug their way out of the earth, dirt falling off the dry and broken bones as the wretched fiends attacked.

The Stormhammer crushed the rib cage of one of the attackers as it tried to attack him. The handle of the weapon felt warm to his touch as the weapon not only crushed, but pulverized the bones the spiked orb impacted. The struck foe crumpled into a pile of shattered bones, the green flames extinguished from the eyes of the skull. Skysoar heard a scream as one of the guards was struck down with wicked, bony claws. As the fox fell, two of the monsters covered the squirming warrior and vanished back underground with their victim. Skysoar spun around, the Stormhammer crushing two of the enemies in one mighty swipe.

"Blunt weapons crush the bones!" Skysoar called out into the chaos, striking the skull clean off one of the skeletons. The body kept fighting even without a head to see the enemy.

"Arrows and blades are just reflected!" A new skeleton fell for the Stormhammer, the entire torso of the creature shattered into small pieces. A sudden high scream from one of the wagons startled Skysoar.

__

"Cloudkeep!" Skysoar fought his way towards their wagon, but for each monster crushed two more joined the fray. A second scream pierced the shadows.

Waves of red-hot battlerage enveloped Skysoar. Images of Torrent and their daughter flashed through his mind. He had lost Cloudkeep once- he would not lose her again! The Stormhammer seemed to become lighter to wield, crushing several fiends in each powerful swipe. Only after his left wing was attacked Skysoar realized he had reverted back to his Draconian form.

"Out of my way, _ner´chass!_" A swipe from his muscular tail took out two of the skeletons. A blast from his Thunder breath attack shattered four skeletons, sharp shards of bone exploding everywhere. Skysoar fought his way to the wagons, blasting away a skeleton attacking one of the guards. The guard took one good look at the raging Draconian and ran screaming.

Skysoar entered their wagon, the Stormhammer ready in his cloven hands. A figure in a black cloak was reaching a skeletal arm towards the child in her cradle. Derek was lying unconscious on the side of the wagon.

__

"Ce´is, cha´larr!" Skysoar roared at the creature, pure thunder ringing in his voice.

The creature stood up straight and turned around, revealing a tall, whole skeleton of a wolf in a tattered black Mage robe. It spoke in a dry and cold voice.

"Who are you, _mortal,_ to disturb the great shadow lord?" Red flames burnt within the skeleton, outlining the black bones in a burning inferno.

"I am Skysoar Stormwing, The Traveler_._ Step back into the shadows whence you came from, _lich!_" Skysoar´s eyes glowed with a golden flame as he spread his wings and raised the Stormhammer. The lich raised its hand.

"Die, mortal fool!" A bolt of raw energy shot out at Skysoar. The lightning bolt crackled through Skysoar´s body, jolting through his teeth and arcing between his horns as he laughed at the attack.

"You attack a Blue Draconian with a _lightning spell?_ Fool!" The lich seemed amazed to see Skysoar still standing, let alone laughing at it.

"Lightning is my element, _nerch´wynn!_ You only gave me more power!" Skysoar growled, raising the Stormhammer like a torch.

__

"Dachar! En´nach´eld´scharr!" Otherworldly golden light flashed through the weapon, illuminating the wagon in a divine radiance. The luminance seemed to scorch the lich, the red flames within the creature suddenly extinguished. The lich stumbled and screeched in a panicky tone as the holy light burnt away the dark magic binding the long dead corpse together and to the will of the Undead mage. A bodiless scream echoed in the night, slashing the air as the bones of the lich shattered and crumpled. Outside the wagon the skeletons fell one by one as the will controlling them was banished from existence.

Skysoar stepped over the smoking remains of the lich to see if Cloudkeep had been hurt. She was fine, staring at Skysoar with her blue eyes.

__

"Scha´dar ren´garr, dal´rann?" Skysoar asked the child and stroke her silky fur. The child giggled and grabbed his scaly finger. He smiled at the child, baring rows of sharp teeth.

A startled gasp from his right told Skysoar that Derek had awoken.

"Leave the child alone, you.."

"Draconian." Skysoar finished for Derek. "Calm down, Derek, it is only I." Skysoar rumbled, turning to face the scared hare.

"Sky? Can it.. but.. how?"

Skysoar sighed as the golden light in his mace flickered and died. "We need to talk, my friend."

*~*~*

Derek had surprisingly enough taken seeing Skysoar in his true form quite well. At least he had not escaped screaming for his mother, as one of the guards had. Skysoar and Derek were conversing in their wagon of the past of the Draconian warrior.

"So you found a small child from a destroyed caravan. But why would a Draconian take a fox child as a protégéé?" Skysoar took in a deep breath.

"I swore an oath of honor to a dying man, Derek. I swore by my right hand and by the name of my god Dachar, the Dragon of Ages. Even if I had wanted to, I could not have just left her there. And.. and I believe she is the reincarnation of my lost daughter, Cloudkeep. The first time I held her in my arms, I could feel it. She is just like Cloudkeep was. Her white fur, those blue eyes.. She even smells like Cloudkeep did. My Draconian instincts took immediately over, and now she _is_ my daughter, though not by blood.. but she is a daughter that I may not be able to keep. I know nothing of raising a child like her, nor do I know enough of this world I have been tossed into.. Heck, I do not even know the _name_ of this world."

"Cerinia."

Skysoar just looked oddly at Derek.

"You are in Cerinia, Skysoar Stormwing. I hope you have enjoyed your stay this far. Now I only have one question left."

"What is it?"

"What were those creatures that attacked us? I have never seen anything like them before."

Skysoar sighed deeply. "You had been lucky, Derek. The smaller fiends were animated skeletons controlled by the lich leading them."

"The lich is an Undead monster left from a powerful dead black mage, containing all the knowledge and power the mage had gathered in life, with the ability to raise skeletons and other lesser Undead –zombies, wraiths, lesser vampires and other generally nasty creatures- to protect and aid it. It is attracted to sources of magical energy and life force. It must have sensed the magic flowing through my body –Draconians are highly magical creatures, not to mention the enchantments on the Stormhammer- and it surely felt the life energy from Cloudkeep. She is healthy and young, full of life- her life force would have sustained and strengthened the monster for a long time." Skysoar shivered lightly as unlocked memories flashed through his mind. Images of bodies of children and women, nearly mummified after the lich had drained the life from them flickered before his eyes.

"Life force? You mean.. it would have.. killed.."

"Yes. It is like a vampire, but instead of blood it drains pure life out of its victims. I have seen it happen before. You do not want to see the results. The powerful magic of the lich is usually more than enough to protect it, as it has powerful spells at its disposal, not to mention the ability of regeneration. Most damage received will regrow nearly instantly, making it near impossible to destroy."

"Are you saying that that.. thing will come back? I thought you destroyed it!" Derek glanced around nervously, as if waiting to see the burning skeleton return for vengeance.

"I did destroy it. It was basically a corpse bound together with black magic, controlled by the soul of a dead mage. The attack that destroyed it was not a physical attack. I channeled pure sacred energy through the Stormhammer at the lich. The divine attack did not attack the being directly, but it destroyed the magic binding the creature together. Without dark magic to support it, the lich crumpled completely with no chances of regeneration."

"You said it had powerful spells. Didn't it use them? You seem unharmed.."

Skysoar snorted out wisps of smoke from his nostrils. "It did. Luckily it did not know of my heritage, as there are no Draconians in this world. It tried to defeat me with a lightning bolt spell."

Derek did not answer, but just eyed Skysoar quizzically.

"I am a blue Draconian, Derek. Not only do I fit in the decor, but I am also able to spew out lightning bolts-" Skysoar spat out a small bolt of electricity, igniting a nearby candle. Jolts of energy arced between his teeth as he grinned at Derek. "-And I am completely immune to electricity, magical or not. The blast only gave me more strength. Other types of Draconian have the same properties with their own elements, such as the Red and the Gold with fire or the White and Silver with ice."

Derek grinned dryly. "Yet another reason not to piss a Draconian off. We should go out to see if any others were harmed. They should also be given time to get used to you."

Skysoar snorted again. Wisps of blue smoke blew out of his nose. "I doubt they will get used to me.. Considering that I am a blue, eight-and-a-half-foot tall Draconian- and that does not count the wings and horns- with a thunder breath attack and enough power in my left hand to crush stone. Not to mention the fact that I carry a mace most of your kind could not even lift, and I _can_ crush stone with it. Oh, will they _ever_ get used to me.."

"Maybe you _do_ have a point. Could you change back to your fox form?"

Skysoar stood up, towering over the five-foot-tall hare. He felt his horns and wings get sucked back into his body as he shrunk and grew fur all over his body. Seconds later his clothes seemed to grow out of his skin.

Derek had visibly paled and he shook forcefully when Skysoar had returned to his disguise.

"That.. that was about the most gruesome thing I have ever seen, and I have seen much during my years!"

Skysoar snorted again and shrugged. This time smoke did not flow out from any of his orifices. "I do not know of how it looks, but it surely feels worse than it can look."

He raised his hand. _"Thrall, Zor´Schrann."_

In a flicker of silvery light the Stormhammer materialized in his raised hand. Derek flinched and looked at the weapon nearly afraid. Skysoar grinned at him.

"It is enchanted, Derek. It comes to me if I call it. This way I do not have to look for it."

Derek laughed nervously. "I _have _to get me a travel chest like that!"

===$$$===

****

Translations of Draconian words and sentences:

__

"Ner'chass _"_

Roughly translated into "hollowskull". A rather effective way of describing an Undead skeleton, not to mention carrying a meaning like "moron".

__

"Ce´is, cha´larr"

Direct translation is "Stand down, Unholy one". Basically meaning something like "Stop, monster."

__

"Nerch´wynn"

The entire message would lose all the bite in translation, but basically the word is a rather unfriendly remark of the parentage of the target. _"Nerch´wynn"_ if the target is male, _"nerch´rann" _if female.

__

"Dachar! En´nach´eld´scharr!"

"Dachar! Destroy this fiend!"

__

"Scha´dar ren´garr, dal´rann?"

"Did you miss me, little girl/daughter?" 

"_Dal´rann"_ stands for 'daughter', 'little girl' or simply female child. "Dal" is the Draconian world for 'young' or 'child', whereas "rann" means 'female'. The Draconian word for 'male' is "wynn", thus _"dal´wynn"_ means 'son', 'little boy' or, simply, 'male child'.

"Thrall, Zor´Schrann"

"Come, Stormhammer/Hammer of Storm"


	8. Begin Part 2, Chapter 8: In the City

****

Of Past and Future: The Tale of a Traveler

Disclaimer: Still don´ own SF. I do own Skysoar/Sky, Derek, Cloudkeep, Caillou and Serena. If you wish to borrow them, ask me. Be glad to help.

****

Part 2, Chapter 8: In the City

A\N:As Serena will play a rather important part in the plot, some parts of the fic from now on will be written from her POV (Point Of View) I have marked the places where viewpoints change accordingly. In later parts (Part 3+, should I get that far) we will get even more important characters with their own viewpoints. Enjoy.

*** Skysoar's POV

After the lich attack the caravan journey had been an uneventful one. Skysoar had explained the guards who had witnessed his transformation that it had been caused by a spell triggered when Cloudkeep was threatened. Most of the caravaners still avoided him.. not Derek, though. He had spent most of his time talking with Skysoar and helping to take care of Cloudkeep. Derek had taught Skysoar much of Cerinia, and Skysoar had told him of his past life.

"So, Skysoar.." Skysoar jerked suddenly as he was awoken from his thoughts. He and Derek had been going through the protocol required when in town.

"I've been needing to ask you a question. I recall that you called yourself a 'traveler' during the attack. What did you mean by that, may I ask?"

Skysoar took in a deep breath. 

"As my true form, this must remain a secret. 

I am a World Traveler, or a Realm Walker, a wanderer of dimensions. In a way I am immortal. When my physical body fails, my soul is instantly transported into a random dimension –a random universe- where I am reborn in my true Draconian form in a place of power in a random world capable of sustaining me. Non-Traveler souls –such as you, Derek- are reincarnated without any memories of their past lives in new bodies, though often similar to their previous forms. I also keep most of my memories, whereas others start totally clean after birth."

Derek looked slightly bewildered. "You mean that you just appeared up there in your Draconian self after you.. had _died?_"

"Mainly, yes. I appeared in some hills north from the canyon where we met. I suppose that those hills are positioned on a nexus of energy. I cannot remember what world I was in before Cerinia. When I Travel, I lose some of the memories I have gained since I became a Traveler. Still those memories are not completely lost- if I have 'forgotten' a creature, for example, and see one, the memories associated with that creature are reawakened. The lich, for instance, is a good example. I did not remember such beings ever existed, but when I saw it, I immediately could remember everything I had learned of it, the strengths and weaknesses of it. The Traveling, however, leaves intact those memories I gained before becoming a Traveler."

"I do not know why, or how, I became a Traveler, but I am trying to make good use of these abilities. I have been gathering knowledge of all the worlds I have visited, while searching.."

"Searching?"

Skysoar swallowed hard. It was still strange to feel some of the reactions his fox body had been equipped with. Draconians did not have the capability of shedding tears, for instance, and it was frustrating to fight with his own voice.

"I.. I had hoped I could meet again my family, no matter how slim the chances. Now I believe I have found again my beloved daughter, Cloudkeep, though she does not remember me."

"Are you really going to leave her in the next city we see to be taken care of?"

"Yes. I cannot raise her as my own, so I shall leave her to parents who can. I will keep an eye on her for a while and leave her to live her own life. There is so much to see here on Cerinia and on the other worlds of this realm."

***

A week after the Undead attack the caravan scouts had seen the lights of their destination city. According to Derek the city was the capital or the northern area of Cerinia, known as Castle City Sheriam. Derek had given Skysoar some Cerinian currency –'drakes' and 'scales' to Skysoar's amusement, fifty scales equaling to one drake- and some general advice on proper protocol and etiquette for the disguised Draconian. Skysoar had asked Derek to 'forget' about him after his departure, for the safety of all of them.

Derek and his caravan staid for three days before departing for their next destination. Skysoar was standing on a rooftop near the city walls to see them off.

"Farewell, _gar´dre´wynn.. _Friend. Live long and prosper.."

He turned and picked up Cloudkeep. They would need a place to stay.. Maybe an inn or a tavern? Skysoar´s golden eyes glittered as he glanced over the sleeping city.

***

A lone night guard was nearly dozing off when he saw a robed figure approach him. He was about to command it to stop when it spoke to him.

"Excuse me, milord.." Torchlight reflected off a pair of golden eyes under the black hood. 

"I have just recently arrived here in Sheriam, and I was wondering, sir, if you could point me to a nearby inn?" The stranger spoke in a deep, calm voice.

"Certainly, mister. The closest inn would be the Silver Drake. Follow the street south until you reach the blacksmith. The Drake is built on the bridge you will see when you turn west."

The figure bowed slightly. "Thank you kindly, milord. West from the blacksmith.. Thank you and good night."

The guard watched the robed figure walk down the street.

"Now that's a first. No-one has ever called me milord before.." He shook his head and resumed keeping a lookout for anything unusual.

*** Skysoar´s POV

Skysoar smiled to himself when he saw the inn. The Silver Drake had been built partly on a stone bridge crossing the river that split the city in two halves. It was a strongly built stone structure half on the bridge, propped on large stone pillars. The lower floor windows were made of red and green stained glass, tossing red and green light onto the stream below.

Skysoar smirked at the tavern sign representing a silver dragon holding a large pitcher in its forelegs.

"The Silver Drake, eh? Seems quite quiet for an inn at this time of the night.."

Skysoar propped Cloudkeep wrapped in soft cloth on his left arm, removed his heavy travel hood and opened the wooden door.

Golden light washed over him. The scents of dry straws, ale and sweat pervaded his nostrils. The inn seemed to be quiet. Only a handful of patrons (not too drunk, even) were seated at the large hall. A tired-looking gray-furred vulpine barmaid was serving the customers to ale. Skysoar made quick notes how the tables and chairs had been firmly bolted to the floor. At the rear was a large bar table with an old fox who seemed like the possible owner. It was warm in the hall, as a large fireplace at the side of the room had been loaded with large chunks of firewood. Skysoar glanced approvingly at the large metal (iron, from the scent) grate covering the entry, noticing how the hay had been brushed off the floor in a reasonable area around the fireplace.

"Can I help you?" A melodic female voice awoke Skysoar from his thoughts. The voice belonged to the vulpine barmaid who had stopped to talk to him.

"Thank you , Miss. Where could I get a room?"

The maid flashed a quick smile at Skysoar, her emerald-green eyes flaring amongst her silvery-gray fur.

"Oh, don't call me 'miss', milord. I'm Serena. You can rent a room from old Caillou over there."

She motioned at the old fox at the table. Skysoar nodded and returned the smile.

"Thank you, Serena. I will need to talk to him, then." He glanced around the near-silent bar.

"Is it always this quiet here, may I ask? One could think you are currently closed down. I cannot see the drunken patrons most inns would have gathered at this hour.."

Serena laughed quietly at him. "'Tis always this quiet during the winter, master Sky. As for the drunken patrons, we have a policy not to give too drunken people ale. We like it calm here. Besides, we will soon be closing for the night."

"Is that so? I will need to talk to Caillou, then. Good night, Serena."

Skysoar proceeded to greet the old brown vulpine at the desk.

"Greetings. I assume I am talking to master Caillou?"

The old fox nodded.

"Yes, I'm Caillou. How can I help you?"

Skysoar dug out his coin pouch. "My name is Sky. I would like to rent a room for some days."

"The price is fifteen scales for a night. How long were you planning on staying?"

Skysoar thought for a moment. "I do not know yet. I will pay for five days advance and see then."

Caillou watched Skysoar count up several pentagonal coins.

"Fifty-five scales.. That will be enough. You will have to understand that we don't want any trouble here. That means no gambling, no lady 'friends' or fighting. Break anything and you pay for it. Get too drunk an' I'll personally throw you out. Kapische?"

"I assure you, master Caillou, that trouble is the last thing I want. I happen to like it quiet."

"If you say so. Serena! Could you show master Sky to his room?"

The maid rushed over to the table and left her tray there. "Surely. Please follow me, master Sky."

Serena lead Skysoar up the stairs to a door on the third floor. "Here is your room."

The furniture consisted of a strong wooden table, some chairs, a large closet and a bed. The window above the table gave a good, if slightly warbled view of the sleeping city over the river. Serena hurried to light some candles in brass holders set in the walls.

"I hope you enjoy your stay here. Is there anything I could do for you?"

Serena's long green dress rustled as she turned to face Skysoar. The green cloth accented nicely her silvery gray fur and emerald eyes. The fur surrounding her eyes was nearly white, whereas the rest of her facial fur was darker, smoky silver gray. Her ears were like pure silver and a silvery-colored mane of hair reached slightly past her shoulders. Skysoar blinked and shook his head and as he realized he was staring.

"The room is excellent, thank you. One cannot complain when one has spent nearly two months in a mountainside cave and traveled with a caravan for nearly a month. Heck, this is _divine_ compared to that.."

Skysoar stopped for a second and took deep breath. "And now, I am rambling on like a fool. Forgive me. I would appreciate if you could bring me something cold to drink and some soup. Meat soup, preferably, please." 

Serena seemed somewhat surprised.

"Meat soup? I'll go see if we have anything.." She rushed out of the room, leaving behind a cloud of some kind of perfume. Skysoar shook his head.

"Concentrate, Skysoar," he growled silently to himself. "_She_ is a _fox_. _You_ are a blue_ Draconian_, Skysoar Stormwing. Act like one."

He removed his heavy cloak, still growling to himself.

"Mammal instincts.. How can they concentrate at all?"

*** Serena´s POV

Serena climbed back to the third floor, balancing a heavy tray on her arms. She had been slightly surprised when Sky had asked her just to bring some food. Most male (and some female) customers had tried to hit on her when she had asked when she had asked if they needed anything. Some had treated her like pond scum. Master Sky didn't seem like either of those types. He had been so polite to her, completely unlike some customers. He had a kind of an aura of mystery around him. The way he spoke was completely different from what she had been used to. His appearance was somewhat exotic; new and mysterious, but in a good way. Serena had never seen a fox with blue fur before. Bluish gray, yes, but never had she seen such clear azure blue fur, like the calm summer ocean. And those eyes.. They were gold. Not brownish yellow, but pure gold, like a new coin. Serena found the way he had nearly blushed quite amusing..

Serena was still holding back laughter when she entered Sky's room. He had removed his cloak and was wearing black leather trousers, black boots with silvery decorations, a black sleeveless leather jacket and some kind of black metal bracelets with silvery designs on them. Serena was surprised to see the way his muscles bulged under a layer of short, blue fur. He must have been very strong. He had crouched over something on the table, muttering in a language Serena didn't recognize.

"Ehm.. I brought you some soup and ale, master Sky.."

Sky seemed to have been surprised by her sudden appearance. He straightened up suddenly and spun around to face her, reaching up a hand as if to grab something. A sudden flash of comprehension dawned on his face and he lowered his arm, embarrassed. Serena spoke first to break the awkward silence. 

"I'm sorry if I startled you, master Sky. I couldn't find any meat soup, so I brought you some chicken stew. I brought some ale, too. You must be thirsty."

Sky had regained his composure and smiled at her, revealing rows of sharp teeth. "It is all right, Serena. I must still be jumpy after my travels. Chicken stew will do fine, thank you very much."

He took the tray gently from Serena and set it on the table. When he turned sideways to her Serena could see what was on the table.

It was a child. A white, vulpine child.

"Uh.. This is your child, master Sky?" Serena was surprised at the way her voice sounded- slightly stuttering and brittle. Sky seemed equally surprised.

"Hunh? Well.. Yes and no. She has been assigned to my care, so that makes her my daughter. Still, there is no blood relativity, as I am not related to her parents."

Serena nodded silently. She crouched over the child to study her closer. Her fur was pure white and her eyes were deep blue with a small hue of purple. She was staring at Serena with those blue eyes, with the curiosity only a small child could have.

"She is beautiful.." Serena whispered. "May I ask for her name?"

Sky smiled slightly at her. "Cloudkeep. Her name is Cloudkeep; The castle in the clouds."

Serena stared into the blue eyes of the little girl. "Cloudkeep.." she whispered. Her fur truly was colored like the pure summer clouds. Serena flinched slightly when Cloudkeep raised he small, but perfect hand to touch her cheek. "Oh.." Cloudkeep was just staring at Serena, her tiny nose moving slightly while she was feeling Serena's fur. Serena had to fight the urge to grab the child off the table and to cradle her in her arms. Her heart nearly leapt up to her throat when she felt Sky's hand on her shoulder.

"Would you like to hold her, milady?"

Serena nodded silently. "Than you, milord. She is such a beautiful child.."

Serena took Cloudkeep carefully to her chest and kept the child to her chest. The little girl instinctively wrapped her delicate arms around Serena's neck. "Oh.." Serena had to fight back tears. Cloudkeep was so small and fragile.. and she trusted her so much.

Serena put the child gently back down on the table.

"I- I am sorry, milord. I have work to do.." Her voice did not sound like her own. "I must go now.."

Sky spoke in a low, smooth and gentle voice. "I understand. Go. Sleep well, Serena."

Serena rushed out of the room, her thoughts and emotions a senseless jumble.

*** Skysoar's POV

Skysoar looked after Serena as she stumbled her way out. Something with Cloudkeep had shaken her. Towards the end of her 'visit' Skysoar had sensed a mindless jumble of feelings from her.

"Women. Be they Draconian, human, vulpine.. never will I understand them. I will have to keep an eye out for her.." 

Skysoar shivered when he remembered how he had reacted to her arrival. He had still to get used to his vulpine instincts and emotions. 

"Thank Dachar I did not have the Stormhammer handy.." The mace had flat-out crushed the bones of the undead attackers in combat. Should he wield the weapon against a living foe.. The results could not bear thinking about. 

Skysoar shook his head. He would need to be more careful from now on. 

"Now then, _dal'rann.." _Skysoar began, turning to the child. "Shall we feed you? You can have the soup and I will take the ale. Deal?"

There was no danger he would get drunk from a pitcher or two of mere ale. The Draconian body was extremely resistant to different poisons (including alcohol) and most of that resistance had been transferred over to his fox body. Skysoar had once calculated that the amount of pure, undiluted alcohol he would need to consume before becoming intoxicated was near five good-sized _barrels_ of pure ethanol in his Draconian self. His vulpine form would not be far behind.

Cloudkeep just giggled at him as he approached the child, spoon in hand.

*** *** ***

****

That would be the end of Part One and the beginning of Part Two for you. Hope you liked it. 

Do we sense some sparks here? What about maternal instincts? I do have plans for Skysoar and Serena, so stick around.

__

Arch, and the translations of the Draconian bits:

__

"Gar'dre'wynn"

"My friend" 'Gar' stands for 'me','I', or 'my'. 'Dre' means 'friend'. The 'wynn' at the end means that the particular friend is a male one. _"Gar'dre'rann"_ would be 'my friend' when talking about a female friend.

__

"Dal'rann"

"Little girl/daughter/female child". As said before, 'Dal' stands for child and 'rann' means female. _"Dal'wynn"_ would mean 'little boy' or 'son' or 'male child'. Simple as that.


	9. Part 2, Chapter 9: Morning

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Of Past and Future: The Tale of a Traveler

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Fox. Period. Any characters you do not recognize most likely belong to me.

Chapter 9- Morning

Plenty of Serena in this chapter. Plenty talk, not much happenin', unlike in following chapters. You just wait..

*** Skysoar´s POV

Skysoar was awakened by a loud knock on the door. He opened his eyes.. or tried to. His right eye seemed to be glued shut. More knocking followed by a muffled female voice. 

"Master Sky? Are you awake?"

Skysoar shook his head and managed to open his left eye. "Hrnf?" He was too sleepy to get anything sensible out of him. The banging stopped.

"Master Sky? 'Tis Serena. I brought you breakfast. Can I come in?"

Skysoar blinked to himself. Serena? Ah yes, the barmaid..

"Give me a second!" he called out, grabbing his trousers off the bedside pile.

*** Serena's POV

Serena had to blink her eyes some times to make sure she was not seeing things. Master Sky had opened the door suited only in his leather trousers. His chest, covered in a layer of short blue fur, was slender but very strongly muscular. As the distance between them was only some feet, Serena could see all the muscles in Sky's arms and torso move under the skin. She was sure he did not have an ounce of fat in his body. She was a good three inches shorter than him..

Serena realized she was staring and blushed furiously. Master Sky made a small bow and motioned with his right hand.

"Good morning, milady. Forgive me for the wait- you woke me up and I had to get some clothes on, for modesty's sake. Please, come in."

Serena could not hold back a smile. "Good morning, master Sky. Please, stop calling me 'milady'. Everybody calls me Serena."

Sky smiled at her, his golden eyes glittering at her.

"Milady Serena, courtesy requires me to call you 'milady' if you call me 'master' or 'milord'. I will call you Serena if you call me Sky."

Serena just looked helplessly at him. "You win, m.. Sky."

Sky smirked at her, baring rows of sharp teeth. "I always win, Serena." His expression turned suddenly serious. "_Arch_, but where are my manners? That tray looks heavy. Let me take it. Please, come in."

Sky took the tray from her and set it on the table. That gave Serena a good view of his back muscles. They were in just as good condition as the rest of him.

Serena scolded herself silently for behaving like an obsessed teenager and forced herself to look somewhere else. 

Sky had left his travel cloak on a hook next to the door. He had left his jacket neatly folded on his bed next to his gauntlets.

"Serena?"

She snapped out of her thoughts, meeting Sky's golden eyes.

"Have you already eaten? There is more then enough food for me and Cloudkeep, and it would be a shame to waste any."

She was about to refuse politely when her stomach emitted a low growl.

"I- well.. Thank you, Sky."

Sky just smiled at her.

"Please, help yourself to it, Serena." He took a loaf of bread and broke it into two halves, handing the larger one to Serena.

__

"Sha´nara´chra deln."

Serena blinked. "Excuse me?"

Sky looked confused for a second. "_Arch,_ sorry. An old ritual of my people. 'Blessed be this meal.' It is supposed to bless the meal and those who eat it." He took a bite out of his half.

"Oh. Well.. Thank you."

Sky actually made honor with a sausage. "You are very welcome. Hold on.. Cloudkeep is awake."

He rose to pick the child up from the bed.

"I hope you will not mind. I will have to feed her."

"Of course I won't mind.", Serena answered.

Sky proceeded to carefully feed Cloudkeep some soft meat and milk. The way he handled the child seemed so natural to Serena; he had a firm but obviously gentle way of treating her. She was so small compared to his strong arms..

"May I ask how old is she?" Serena asked in a low voice.

"I am not entirely sure, Serena" Sky answered, patting the child gently on the back. "She got her first teeth just recently, but she is not moving by herself yet. I would say she is maybe some four months old."

Serena was shocked. _Four months?_ Traveling with a four _months _old child.. She forced her voice to stay calm.

"May I ask why is a four months old child traveling all around Cerinia in the middle of winter?"

Sky eyed her carefully, golden eyes glittering in the morning sunlight.

"I see you are truly worried for her. Very well. I had been instructed not to give this information away, but you seem trustworthy."

Serena nearly blushed again. "Thank you, milord."

Sky smiled shortly at her. "You are welcome. You will have to remember that may speak with no one- _no one-_ except with me of this. And stop calling me 'milord'."

"The father of the child- a very distant relative of mine- is of noble blood among my people. The exact translation of the title would be meaningless to you, so I shall just refer to him as the lord. The health of the lord has been faltering lately, and he has no other children besides Cloudkeep. As it is believed that the lord- Dachar bless his soul- will not live to see the next summer, and Cloudkeep will not be able to claim her heritage for years to come, the political situation has become a rather sticky one."

Sky stopped to have a sip of water.

"The nearest relative of the lord would be his cousin, a slimy, back-stabbing rat- figuratively speaking, of course; calling him a rat would be an insult to all of rat kind- who happens to think the position of the lord would fit him quite well."

Sky's deep voice had gained strength. Not volume, but pure strength.

"There is only one thing between him and the throne. Cloudkeep, who would inherit the throne when old enough. I received a request from the lord himself that Cloudkeep should be brought to safety beyond the reach of any attempts against her."

"I was traveling with her in a caravan when we were ambushed by bandits. Long story short, I managed to escape with her- and had to wait for two long months in a mountainside cave for a passing caravan in order to get here."

Serena was nearly speechless. "Someone.. would try to kill _her?_ Someone would assassinate a four months old girl for a _title? _What kind of _monster.."_

"The cousin of the lord" Sky interrupted. "He is widely known for his lack of any kind of moral -and for some rather.. unusual.. desires, which I could not converse of with a lady- but know this."

His voice had been stripped of all warmth it had held.

"I know his face. Ridding the world of him would be a service to all of us. Should I ever come across him, _I will come prepared."_

He motioned with a hand to the wall next to his bed. Serena gasped when she realized what was hanging on the wall. Above Sky's boots had been set hanging off some leather straps the largest spiked mace she had ever seen. The handle of the weapon was as black as the starless night with some silvery decorations, and nearly as long as her arm. The end of the mace was a round, black chunk of metal larger then both of her hands balled together, adorned with lethal, silver-colored spikes, all over an inch long.

"I will be prepared.." Sky rumbled almost to himself "..And so shall be the Stormhammer.."

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That was it, then. Some breakfast conversation, right.. Wait for chapter Ten. That one _will_ have action.. not THAT kind of action, mind you. I do not think that I will need to translate just a single Draconian sentence, so I will not bother.

See you next chapter.. One more thing. See the little menu below on the left? Pick 'submit review' and push the little button. Leave me a message after the beep. Flame me an' I'll sic Skysoar on you.

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	10. Part 2, Chapter 10: Knight in Shining Ar...

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Of Past and Future: The Tale of a Traveler

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Fox or any Star Fox characters. I own Skysoar, Serena and Cloudkeep. Read on.

Chapter 10: Knight in Shining Armor.. without the armor

*** Skysoar's POV***

Skysoar was sitting in his room, playing absent-mindedly with Cloudkeep. He was thinking of his experiences in this new world, Cerinia. How he had received Cloudkeep- how she had sung with him in the rites of burial- long months of wait- meeting Derek, traveling alongside his caravan- the Undead attack- arriving in Sheriam- how he had met Serena..

Serena. Skysoar was still unsure how to think of her. She had proven to be much more than she seemed to be. Underneath her 'tender' and 'shy' appearance she had hidden a core of pure _mithril._ She had seemed to be just a weak, humble servant, but she had her own, strong opinions and was not afraid to show them. 

Skysoar truly enjoyed her company. During the week he had already remained at the inn Serena had expressed her wish to be allowed to help to take care of Cloudkeep. Skysoar had not objected- she seemed to be truly interested in the child, and Cloudkeep seemed to have grown attached to her. Serena had taken a habit of visiting them during the evenings to speak with him and to see Cloudkeep. Skysoar had begun to tell her stories of the outside world, speaking of his travels in other worlds (though not directly as his own experiences, but reshaped into adventurous stories of ancient lore)

She was also actually quite good looking, for a fox. Her silk-smooth fur was like pure silver glittering in the moonlight. The way her emerald eyes glittered when she laughed, her voice, the way she walked, her body, tall and slender with not too much of..

Skysoar shook his head and cursed himself. "You have _brains, _Skysoar. Use _them_ to think!"

He had yet to cope with some new instincts he had acquired alongside his vulpine body. This particular one was one of the more annoying new urges he had to suppress. So far it had proven to be quite harmless, but it disturbed his ability to think coherently around Serena (not to mention it was irritating like hell).

His ears suddenly shot straight up. He had heard something. He listened carefully and sniffed the air. The scent made him frown. 

One of the more interesting abilities of his vulpine form was the way he could smell different things. Previously unknown scents had gotten a name; he could differ various emotions scent by scent. Some scents were subtle, and did not carry very far, such as sorrow or joy; others were more invasive, carrying far from the source without diminishing. Hatred, fear, fury.. What he could smell now made the fur on his neck stand straight up.

Skysoar smelled fear. Powerful fear.. close by. He grabbed the Stormhammer off the wall and strapped it to his back.

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*** Serena's POV ***

Serena was terrified. She had been serving ale to some customers when a drunken soldier had grabbed her. Now he had her tightly pinned against him while attempting to grope her. She struggled to no avail. The alcohol fumes the drunkard was breathing out were nauseating. She felt like she could pass out any moment.

"Let GO of me!"

The drunkard- and some of his friends- just laughed at her.

"The lady told you to let go," a deep voice echoed in the suddenly silent hall. "I shall not ask twice."

All eyes in the hall were directed at the speaker. Serena felt her eyes widen.

Sky had entered the room. He was standing at the foot of the stairs. In his golden eyes burnt a rage Serena had not seen before.

A gasp escaped her lips. The drunkard had suddenly produced a shortsword and was swinging it slowly at Sky.

"Who're you?"

Sky took a step closer, ignoring the weapon.

"I am known as Sky. _To you_ _I am the Storm._" Serena could have sworn that his voice echoed like distant thunder. Sky took a second step closer, his burning eyes directed at the soldier. Serena felt the grip around her loosen and broke free, bolting suddenly away from the soldier. He tried to grab her, but missed.

That was all Sky needed. Growling loudly he leaped out at the soldier and crashed straight into him. When the patron stumbled Sky threw a barrage of punches at him. The offender muttered a curse and took a swing with his sword. Serena could not hold back a small scream.

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* KA-THINCK *

Sky had blocked the blow with his bracelet. The blade of the sword had simply broken off near the handle. He growled at the dumbfounded soldier.

__

"My turn."

The drunken warrior never got a chance to defend himself. Sky was a blur of movement. Three rapid punches to the face of the patron made him sway.

"Never.." A backhand swing with his right arm made the soldier spin around.

"..harm.." Sky bashed his forehead into the face of the offender.

"..a woman.." Sky kneed him in the groin. An audible crack made most male watchers cringe.

"..when I.." Serena gasped. Sky had just grabbed the soldier from his throat and lifted him up in the air, holding him a foot off the floor with just his right hand.

".. AM AROUND!" Sky took a mighty swing and tossed the soldier clean across the room at the door. The heavy door slammed open from the impact. The soldier never stopped. A moment later a mighty splash was heard outside. 

"Are you all right, milady?" It took a moment for Serena to realize Sky was talking to her. Unsure if her voice would obey her, she just nodded.

"Good." Sky glanced around the bar. Several friends of the soldier had stood up, ready to fight.

"The lady is under my protection." Sky's voice was like pure steel. He reached behind his left shoulder and grabbed the mace Serena had seen in his room.

"Cross her, you cross me. Cross _me.._"

* SMASH! *

Sky had swung his mace down. The heavy spiked end had obliterated a strongly built chair.

"Meet the Stormhammer." Everyone was just staring the mace that had seemingly pulverised most of the chair. Sky yanked the mace off the floor and swung it casually back across his shoulder. He turned and left the now silent hall.

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*** Skysoar's POV***

Skysoar had barely sat down in his room, the remains of combat fury burning through his veins, when he heard someone knock on the door.

"Come in."

It was Serena. Her silvery fur was a mess, her skirt was torn and her eyes were swollen.

"I.. just wanted to.."

Then she was suddenly in Skysoar's arms, crying against his shoulder. He wrapped his arms gently around her and whispered to her in a low, smoothing voice. He just held her there until she stopped crying.

When she pulled away from him, her green dress was drenched red with blood.

"I thought you said you were not harmed!"

Serena looked down at her dress and stared at Skysoar, terrified.

"I'm not hurt, you are!"

Skysoar looked down. A horizontal cut in his side was oozing out crimson blood. He felt suddenly very weak..

"Combat fury.. I never felt that.." He managed to utter before his world went dark..

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Owch. Medic! Rule Number One, gals, guys and gays: NEVER piss off a Draconian. Any color. The results do not bear thinking of.

This is NOT good for Skysoar. What will happen next? See in chapter Eleven, coming most likely very soon..


End file.
